Baby Talk
by Francine2869
Summary: A different take on the baby deal. Set after Adrift 2.


This is a story that I wrote a while ago and posted on the Yahoo Harm/Mac shipper board. I'm also working on the next chapter of "What Hurts the Most" and it should be up soon. Stay tuned! _A slightly different take on the baby deal. Be warned the first ending is not shipper friendly._

**_Baby Talk_**

Harm tickled her tiny feet as she kicked at the air. "You look like  
you're riding a bicycle, but that won't happen for a few years yet."  
She gurgled and smiled at him, spit bubbles popping at her mouth.

He looked into her big brown eyes and couldn't help smiling. He rubbed  
a hand ever so gently over her silky fine hair. "I'm so glad you look  
like your mother." She flailed wildly for a moment, waving her arms  
and twisting her torso towards Harm. He settled her with a large hand  
on her stomach, marvelling again at her tiny size as his fingers curled  
lightly around her waist.

"You're glad too huh?" She smiled again, clapping her hands against  
his, trying to get a firm grip on his skin. "You're on very lucky  
lady. You mom loves you very much. And she wanted you so bad. You  
should have seen her the day she found out she was expecting you."

Harm remembered vividly. The glow to her skin, the new sparkle in her  
eye, her smile. She hadn't been able to stop smiling. His attention  
was called back when the petit body under his hand moved again,  
drawing in a deep breath as she yawned.

"No, you can't go to sleep yet. Your mom's going to be home soon."

Harm tickled her gently, feeling guilty, not for keeping her awake  
until Mac got home, but for keeping her awake for himself. He didn't  
want to waste a minute of their time together although he knew it was  
time for her nap, and that Mac needed more time to rest.

He touched his index finger to her brow, feeling the soft, warm skin  
before moving to her nose. She giggled and grabbed his finger, trying  
to move it to her mouth.

He gave her his knuckle to gnaw on, grinning as she tried to pull it  
in farther. "Oh no you don't miss. I already fed you today."

She had her mother's appetite as well, along with her timing. She ate  
regularly, every 3 hours finishing off a bottle with regular consistency.

He ran a hand over her side as she yawned again, letting go of his  
finger. "Maybe I should put you in your crib." He pushed himself off  
of the bed, careful not to jostle her in the process and lifted her  
into his arms just as he heard the door open. He walked into the  
kitchen, cradling her close to his body with her head pressed to his  
neck. The baby smell overwhelmed him and the warmth of her tiny body  
seeped through his clothes, infusing his heart with warmth that  
shocked him every time he felt it.

Mac shrugged off her coat and smiled at them. "How was she?"

"An angel. Like always."

* * *

**_Ending #1 (not H/M!)_**

"I'm so glad. And I'm so glad you were available to baby-sit today. I  
didn't realize how much I needed groceries and with Bud and Harriet at  
her parents - "

"Mac its okay. I like spending time with Maggie." And you' he added  
silently.

"And you're so good with her too. I always knew you'd be good with  
children."

I just though it would be with our child' they both thought.

Mac lifted the baby into her arms, the child immediately cuddling  
close to her mother, recognizing her voice and her scent. Harm touched  
the cap of her hair again and lifted his eyes to find Mac watching him.

"I'd better get going." He said, picking up his coat and putting it on."

"Harm ... "

He looked at her, the Madonna mother cradling her child to her breast.  
A vision of pure beauty.

"Mic would be proud of you."

He watched her draw back from him, although she didn't move. He kissed  
Maggie's forehead, touching her back one more time before he tore  
himself away and opened the door.

"Bye."

Harm took the elevator to the bottom floor and walked out into the  
sunset. He strode slowly down the street, thinking about lost chances  
and the beautiful child that he couldn't help loving. Yes, he was very  
glad that she looked like her mother.

The door closed behind Harm with a click and Maggie began to fuss, as  
if she could sense his absence and her mother's distress.

"Shhhh" Mac murmured, swaying slightly till Maggie settled again.  
"He's right you know. Your daddy would be proud. He'll always be  
watching over you."

She settled her daughter into her crib, dimming the lights and  
starting the quiet mobile hanging from the ceiling. She rubbed  
Maggie's stomach as she thought back over the last year. Mic  
leaving after Harm's crash and their failed wedding, discovering she  
was pregnant and informing him. Then hearing about his death at sea a  
few days later.

Mac watched her daughter inhale and exhale in her sleep, knowing that  
as sure as they had survived this far, that they would surviving in  
the coming years. Even if they were on their own.

But as the sun faded in the window and the shadows washed over them,  
she couldn't help imagining her child with familiar blue-green eyes.

* * *

**_Ending #2 (the shipper ending)_**

Harm kissed his wife as she they looked at their daughter as she slept  
in her father's strong arms.

"That's cause she's Daddy's little girl."

"Well, Daddy's little girl is ready for her nap so we'll be right back."

"I'll come with you. We can cook dinner after."

He lifted an arm around her shoulder and she slipped hers around his  
waist.

As the last rays of the sun bathed the house in a golden light, the  
couple and their child, the beautiful product of their love, made  
their way up the stairs, both looking forward to a lifetime of nights  
together like this.


End file.
